THE LIFE &
WORK
OF DWIGHT LYMAN MOODY

BY THE REV. J.
WILBUR CHAPMAN, D.D.

Testimony
to Mr.Moody's Wonderful Personality -The Opinions of Prominent Men who
Knew Him and His Work -The Universal Regard in Which He Was Held.

The estimation in which Mr. Moody
was held by his co workers, and others who knew him, will testify perhaps most
fittingly to his wonderful personality. Many of the following tributes were
written in response to enquiries made by the Christian Endeavor World.

"He was a convincing example
of the priesthood of the people, and led out the laity into fields of unsuspected
Christian usefulness. Edwards, Payson, Caughey, Inskip, Moody: the greatest
of these was Moody." – Rev. D. H. Moore, D.D. Cincinnati, Ohio.

"Mr. Moody was a man of the
utmost sincerity, clear faith and strong constitution. He knew men, and was
a man of common sense. He was a preacher, simple, direct and interesting.
I believe that he gave a strong uplift to the religious life of America and
Great Britain." - William Lawrence, Protestant Episcopal Bishop of Massachusetts.

"In the most entire and utmost
way, Mr. Moody exhibited and lived for and preached Jesus Christ at once God
and Brother. His success in that preaching is only an illustration of the
fact that such Gospel appeals to and meets as nothing else can, the needs
of the human heart. His last words were 'The earth recedes, Heaven opens.'
Those may be our last words also if, as he did we trust and serve his Lord,
who is at once Lord and Brother. - Rev. Wayland Hoyt, D. D., Philadelphia,
Pa.

"In Christ
His life was a good fight of faith.
His work was a long labor of love.
His death was a full triumph of hope.
His memory is a strong inspiration to service.
His reward is an inheritance of glory
With Christ."

- Rev. Henry Van Dyke, D. D. New
York, N Y.

"He is, in my opinion, the
greatest evangelist since White-field, and since the Apostle Paul there has
been no man who has preached to so great a multitude and led so many to Christ.
To the end of time Mr. Moody's teachings will last. The simplicity of his
words went direct to the heart of common men. His conscientiousness, his enthusiasm,
his inspired common sense, his kindness - all made him especially fitted for
his work." - Rev. Newell Dwight Hillis, D. D., Brooklyn, N. Y.

"He was, under God, the prime
inspirer and director of the evangelistic trend, which has marked the last
third of the nineteenth century. He has done more than any clergyman or layman
of his generation in changing the style and method of the pulpit and in making
it, as it ought to be, more direct, practical and sympathetic. To say that
Mr. Moody was an uneducated man is wide of the mark. He was well educated,
although self-educated, through the constant use of all the varied resources,
which lay around him, for thorough and continuous preparation for his divinely
designated mission." - Rev. Robert Hunter, D. D., Philadelphia, Pa.

"I have known Mr. Moody for
twenty-five years, and have met him on many occasions. He was one of the purest
and truest men I ever knew. He was a most thoughtful and careful student of
the Bible. He was a great friend of young men, and his influence over them
was remarkable. He was a devoted and laborious worker, and, so far as I know,
the money he received nearly all went to aid poor young men or struggling
colleges or churches. Mr. Moody was a remarkable reader of human nature and
seemed intuitively to understand how to apply the truth to men in keeping
with their disposition and nature. The Church of Jesus Christ has lost one
of the most effective workers it ever had in the death of Mr. Moody."
- Rev. I. W. Joyce, D. D., LLD., Bishop of the M.F. Church.

"Mr. Moody was a man of tender
compassion and unbounded sympathy, of deep humility and abounding charity,
- of tireless energy and unflagging hope. Faith in a God who answers prayer
and who can save the most hopeless, faith in the Bible as the Word of God
from the beginning to the end, faith in the present power of the Holy Spirit,
was the secret of his strong, beautiful and wondrous service." - Rev.
R. A. Torrey, Chicago, Ill.

Mr. Moody has taken his place
among the immortals. In his own sphere his work was owned by God as truly
as was that of Mr. Spurgeon in his sphere. Mr. Moody gave great prominence
and power to the work of the laity. He emphasized the gentler rather than
the sterner elements of the Gospel. His ministry was one of declaration rather
than one of argumentation. His educational work is the most enduring feature
of his unique service and his consecrated life." - Rev. P.S. MacArthur,
D.D., New York, N.Y.

"In the death of Mr. Moody,
the world suffers a loss which no other man's services, however invaluable,
can neutralize. His speculations concerning things beyond this earth were
not peculiarly his and were not the measure of his great worth. His value
was his amazing gift for identifying the whole human side of his religion
with the whole human side of his life, and for kindling other souls from the
fires of his mighty devotion. May these things live after him forever."
- George W. Cable, Northampton, Mass.

"My heart aches over the loss
that comes to us in the death of Mr. Moody. He has always been an inspiration
to me in preparing hymns for gospel work; not that he was a musician or claimed
to be, but I early learned to prize his judgment as to the value and usefulness
of a hymn for the work. What moved him was sure to move others, and what failed
to do so could be safely omitted. I have esteemed it one of my highest privileges
to share in preparing songs for his work, and, now that he has gone, how lonely
it seems!" – James McGranahan, Kinsman, O.

"D. L. Moody believed the
Bible to be the Word of God, and preached its truths with the authority of
a messenger intrusted with a revelation. He believed in the Holy Spirit, and
depended upon Him for power. His love for Jesus was a passion; and he loved
people, good and bad, because Jesus loved them.

"In the inner circle of his family and intimate friends he was as tender
as a child, or gentle as a woman, at times as frolicsome as a boy, and as
cheerful as morning sunshine. There was in him a rare union of spiritual fervor
and common sense. His enthusiasm never ran away with his judgment. He was
truly great in the Christlike sense of ministry to others." - Rev. A.
C. Dixon, D. D., Brooklyn, N. Y.

"The rounded fullness of Dwight
L. Moody's life is answer to the oft-repeated question, Is life worth living?
It is not worth living if lived for self; it is if lived for others. And,
when I think of the countless many who have been lifted to higher things by
his earnest words and self-denying life, I am sure that his life was worth
living. Only the recording angel can tell the number of those who, when the
news of his death was telegraphed, responded with the expression, unrecorded
on earth, 'Thank God for Dwight L. Moody's life!'

"His end was peace. His message to all is service. 'Whosoever will be
chief among you let him be your servant.' The world needs a successor. Who
will he be?" – David J. Brewer, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
of the United States, Washington, D. C.

"He preached a positive Gospel
to an age of doubt, and moved the popular heart and life as no other man of
the age has done, unless it be Charles H. Spurgeon. The great preacher was
ever true to the Bible doctrines concerning God, sin, punishment, repentance,
Heaven and hell He stood firmly for the divinity of Christ and the inspiration
of the Scriptures and the authority of the Book of books. He was a large-hearted,
sympathetic, noble, manly man. His Gospel was full of sunshine and joy. 'God
is love' was the magnet which he used to draw men to Christ and a new life.
His power was due to his positive faith, his life in close touch with the
spirit of God, his rare good sense, his sympathy and love for all classes,
his insight into human' nature and his ability to manage men. He has shown
what one can be and do who is wholly devoted to God and his work." -
Rev. P. H Swift, D. D. Chigago, Ill.

"Very few men have been so
close to the strength and weaknesses of humanity. He saw and dealt with all
classes - the high and the low, the rich and the poor - and as he came close
to them they also were drawn close to him. This was because all believed in
his love and truth, in his sincerity and absolute unselfishness. This was
never shown perhaps to a greater degree than in the early life of this association,
when full of faith, hope and perseverance he gave to this organization that
spiritualizing force which is to-day the great source of strength and vitality.

"Two of my childish recollections of Sunday are of sitting in one of
the pews of the old 'spotted church,' as it was called, and going with my
father to the mission Sunday school in North Market Hall, where Mr. Moody
was the chief spirit. I remember how he inspired me with confidence as a child,
and how my love and respect grew with the passing years." – J.V. Farwell,
Jr., Chicago, Ill.

"Any tribute I might give
to the memory of Mr. Moody would be largely influenced by personal affection
as well as admiration, for during the well-nigh quarter of a century I have
been associated with him and his work, both my love and my admiration for
him have grown with the passing years, and his taking away therefore comes
as a personal grief.

"He combined in a most extraordinary degree great strength and force
of character with great sympathy and tenderness of heart, and with these a
most generous nature, always considering the welfare of others rather than
his own comfort and happiness.

"It may be truly said of him that 'a prince in Israel has fallen.' and
those who know him best and are best able to estimate his services to his
generation will say, what they believe time will reveal to all, Dwight L.
Moody was one of the greatest men of the century now closing." - George
C. Stebbins, Brooklyn, N. Y.

"The lines along which he
won success are worthy of very careful attention. First, his life was a constructive
force. He was in the world to build up, construct, to save. He could say,
with Christ: 'I am come not to destroy men's lives, but to save them.' He
dealt with the positive, the known and settled in religion.

"Second, he was thoroughly sincere. He believed his message to be absolutely
true. There was no doubt in his heart, consequently none found expression
on his lips. He was evidently so honest, so true, outspoken and frank that
all men were convinced that he believed through and through every word he
preached, and that he loved his fellow-men and desired their salvation above
everything else; and that he was in the work, not to satisfy a selfish ambition,
or for ease or fame, but because from conviction he had to be there.

"The next element of power in Moody was a childlike simplicity that was
marvellous. He was a man of remarkable wisdom, but there was no cunning in
him. He was as absolutely free from duplicity as a man can be." - Rev.
Charles C. Earle, Boston, Mass.

"His life was spent for Jesus
Christ, his Master. Self was kept back, while Christian power within was his
guide.

"God chose Moody, I have no doubt, because there was in his nature all
the fire and enthusiam that would break out and electrify mankind. He was
anxious for the souls of men. Moody was a layman, but his ministry has been
as successful as any man in orders. Others have saved their hundreds, he his
thousands. Moody was a born leader and was one of the greatest generals we
have ever had. If he had been a soldier he would have stood side by side with
Grant or Wellington.

"Moody unified humanity. He wanted all denominations to get together.
He knew that the way to have a union was not by creeds but by work. Let us
take Moody's idea of work as a unifying force." - Rev. George C Lorimer,
D.D., Boston, Mass.

"Dwight L. Moody was as undeniably
the most extraordinary Gospel preacher that America has produced in this century
as Spurgeon was the most extraordinary that Britain has produced. Both had
all Christendom for their congregations. I am glad that, like Abraham Lincoln,
he never went to any college; both formed their own racy Saxon styles for
themselves.

"With my beloved Brother Moody I had much personal intimacy for twenty-eight
years. He delivered his first Bible readings in our little mission chapel
in the winter of 1872. A few months later, when I was in London, he came into
my room one day and said, 'They want me to stay and preach here; what shall
I do?' My quick answer was, 'Come'. He went with Mr. Sankey, and thus began
his world-wide career in Britain.

"One of his last sermons was delivered from my old pulpit here a few
weeks ago. I said to him, 'Last night you were at your best; you were not
talking to Christians, but. calling the unconverted to Jesus; stick to that
as long as you live.' Who will be the Elisha to follow our translated Elijah?"
- Rev. Theodore L. Cuyler, D.D., Brooklyn, N.Y.

Dwight L. Moody, the most divinely
ordained Christian evangelist of the nineteenth century, sleeps well. He was
girt with greatness all around. A great intellect was his. For, although unlearned
in the classics and sciences, he was deeply schooled in the science of God
and of His Son Jesus Christ, whom to know aright is life eternal. Other knowledges
than this pass away, and are liable to puff up while they last.

"Mr. Moody's greatness of intellect was evidenced by the fact that his
sermons repeated a thousand and more times were always as fresh and fascinating
as they were at first. Only extraordinary minds can speak often on the same
theme without becoming stale. He had also a great heart. He loved everything
that was good. I do not believe he ever felt hateful toward any man. Supremely
he loved Jesus Christ as we read of Him in the Word. Mr. Moody was as certain
that the Holy Scriptures, as we have them, were fully inspired by the Holy
Spirit, as he was that his pulse-beat came from his heart's throb. I recall
no other one in my day whose departure and 'abundant entrance' above have
brought Heaven so sensibly near. He was the friend of the whole world, and
all lands will lament the loss of his measureless influence for human welfare."
- Rev. John Lindsay Withrow, D. D., Boston, Mas.

"Moody and I met for the first
time in Cleveland, East Tennessee. It was about the middle of April, 1864.
I was bringing together my Fourth Army Corps. Two divisions had already arrived,
and were encamped in and near the village. Moody was then fresh and hearty,
full of enthusiasm for the Master's work. Our soldiers were just about to
set out on what we all felt promised a hard and bloody campaign, and I think
were especially desirous of strong preaching. Crowds turned out to hear the
glad tidings from Moody's lips. He showed them how a soldier would give his
heart to God. His preaching was direct and effective, and multitudes responded
with a confession and promise to follow Christ.

"From that time on throughout his useful career I have had association
with him. On the steamer Spree, during our remarkable wreck and rescue, I
was with him. Who could have held up Christ with more fearlessness and fidelity
than he did then to over seven hundred passengers ?

"In Chicago he acted as a general, and I became his subordinate during
the World's Fair. Thousands upon thousands crowded the theatres, tents, halls,
churches, and other public. buildings, by his provisions, to hear the simple
Gospel.

"His work, again, in our war with Spain, by sending evangelical speakers
to the front, whom he knew the soldiers would heed and hear, will never be
measured by us who were mere helpers. He planned, selected his messengers,
and sent them, and raised funds to give to our soldiers the bread of life.

"With tears we read his last words: 'Heaven opens. Earth recedes. God
is calling me.' But O the triumph, Stephen-like, of such a departure."
- General O. O. Howard., Burlingion, Vt.

"I first knew Mr. Moody in
1857. It was at a Sunday school convention at a Clark Street mission in Chicago
that I met him. He was then twenty-one years old, and was just entering the
career in which he has done so much of good. He was a stout, robust ardent
young fellow, shaking hands with everybody and smiling on them in his cheerful
way, and the smile was not put on either - it was genuine.

"I crossed the continent with him in 1871 to attend the California Sunday
school Convention, and again in 1872 I crossed the Atlantic in his company
when he first went to London to hold evangelistic services. At the invitation
of Mr. Buley, the originator of the Dublin tax system, and a philanthropic
gentleman of large means, I spent several days at Mr. Buley's home, near Dublin,
in company with Mr. Moody, and there I became better acquainted with the man
himself. Since then I have met him many times.

"Mr. Moody was bold, courageous in his advocacy of the things which he
believed. He did not know what self-consciousness was. He was never embarrassed
at least he never showed it. He had unlimited faith in the divine power to
carry him through difficulties. To be sure he sometimes failed in his plans
things did not go just as he wanted them to, but he never worried over such
things. Once in Ireland I made fun of some of his old stories. I said, 'See
here, Moody, I have heard you tell these same stories over and over again,
and now I'd like to hear some new ones.' He looked at me in a hurt sort of
way and with tears in his eyes he said, 'Don't say that. I have to use them.'
I made up my mind then that if any man could use an old sword as effectively
as D. L. Moody did, I would never criticize him for it.

"While fixed in his own faith, he was liberal towards people of diverse
faiths. Once in Chicago he went to call on a Roman Catholic bishop. 'I have
talked religion with almost everybody,' said Moody, 'and I thought I would
come and talk to you. Besides, some of your boys throw stones at a mission
over on the north side.' 'That's very wrong in them,' said the bishop, 'and
I will tell them they must not do so.' So they talked about religion for a
while, and Moody said, 'You pray, bishop?' 'Yes, said the bishop.' Let's pray
now,' said Moody, and they did, and they parted fast friends. Moody had largeness
of soul while he had positiveness of faith. It would be good if we had more
like him.

"No man has died in this country in years for whom there has been a wider,
greater, intenser affection than there was for Dwight L. Moody." - Rev.
John H. Vincent, D. D. L. L. D., Bishop of the M.E. Church.

"1. A man of prayer - the
chief secret of his wisdom, usefulness and success.

"2. A man of the Book - unwearied in Biblical study, he wore out several
Bibles; absorbed the very atmosphere as well as the spiritual texts of Scripture.

"3. A man of soundest evangelical faith, with a mighty grasp of essentials
in the answer to the question, 'What must I do to be saved?'

"4. A man of extraordinary practical sagacity, organizing power, and
aptness for leadership. He used to say that it was better to set ten men at
work than to do yourself the work of ten men. But he was accustomed to do
both.

"5. A man of combined courage and tenderness - bold as any lion, tender
as any drop of clew.

"6. A man endowed by his unusually powerful but balanced emotions with
greatness of character, and by his caution and trenchant common sense with
strategic strength of character.

"8. A man of remarkable business and executive talent, he was trusted
by men of affairs.

"9. A man working easily with associates whose endowments filled out
his own, like Professor Drummond and Mr. Sankey, the three together making
a globe of capacities and aptitudes for the work they undertook.

"10. A man whose career has been a spiritual link between England and
America and all English-speaking lands. Mr. Moody has had no equal as an evangelist
since President Finney was laid in his grave; and, as he had no real predecessor
like himself, so he is not likely to have a successor. The Chicago and the
Northfield schools ought to continue through his sons his unmatched work.
'I wonder,' said a young minister to Professor Park, 'that Providence can
accomplish so much through a man of only moderate endowments.' 'I wish to
speak respectfully of Providence,' said Professor Park, in reply, 'but I call
Mr. Moody a great man.' 'I wish I had your shoulders,' said Mr. Gladstone.
'I wish I had your head,' said Mr. Moody, in answer." - Joseph Cook,
L L. D., Boston, Mass.

"My acquaintance with Mr.
Moody runs back forty years or more, when he was just emerging from business
and attracting attention in Chicago by his resolute and resistless efforts
in religious work. We came together often. My house was his home, especially
after the Chicago fire, when he walked out from his flame-lit house with his
little family, saving nothing but his personal Bible. We were together several
months at the time, and gathered the money mainly in New England for the rebuilding
of the Illinois Street Mission. Soon after the fire he made the acquaintance
of Mr. Sankey and founded the connection with which work in England began
at York

"Stretching over the years that intervened, up to Monday night, November
13th of this year, I have enjoyed the inspiration of his life. The freshest
memory I have of him is the night above referred to, when he got off the Pennsylvania
Railroad train to keep an appointment he had made with me by telegraph, to
spend a short time between trains on his way to Kansas City for his last meetings.
I remarked that same night, after he had left me, how heavy a burden seemed
to rest upon his heart as he said again and again I wish that I might be moved
of God to move one large Eastern city. For I think if one Eastern city could
be thoroughly revived, the others would feel the influence and be stirred
likewise.' As I looked into the face of the man, whose eyes and voice were
full of tears, it seemed as if a prophet like unto Elijah had come back again.
He left behind him that night his comfortable home at Northfield and the hospitality
which so many friends would have been glad to give him; laid himself down
in a sleeping-berth of a Pullman car, rattling over a thousand miles to Kansas
City; and rose with a heavy load of concern for the kingdom of his Master,
and under the weight of it he staggered into his grave.

In summing up the distinctly 'great things of this great century no man stands
out more prominently who has spent so many continuous years in superhuman
labor for the public good as Dwight L. Moody, the Christian American layman.
Uncrowned, without title of any kind, he wears the first honors among the
men who loved their fellow men." – The Honorable John Wanamaker.

"In D. L. Moody's death the
world has lost one of the most remarkable men of the century. He was especially
distinguished for his great devotion to the cause of Christianity and of preaching
the gospel to the world. To me one of his most distinguishing characteristics
was his consecrated common sense; this, together with a burning zeal for winning
men to the service of Christ, and his ability to do the work of ten or a dozen
ordinary men, made him the most successful and powerful evangelist of his
day. He was as tender as a woman, and yet as strong and brave as a lion. It
was my happy lot to have been with him for over twenty-eight years, in our
own country and in lands beyond the sea; and my love and admiration for him
increased as the years passed by.

"The news of his death came as a great shock, as we had been led to believe
that he was slowly gaining ground and likely to recover. A week before he
passed away, I went to Northfield to see him, and, if possible, to cheer him
up, but found him so weak and nervous that I decided not to risk an interview,
lest harm might come to him; and thus I failed to bid him good-by. The last
time I saw and talked with Mr. Moody was on the occasion of his last visit
to Dr. John Hall's church in New York City. We spent most of that Sabbath
day together talking over the work in this country, and also the old days
of our labors together across the sea. He seemed quite happy as we spoke of
many kind friends with whom we had worked in Great Britain; but, when I suggested
to him that we might go once more to that country and hold a few farewell
meetings, even for a month or two, an expression of sadness came into his
face such as I had seldom seen before, as he said, 'I should like to go, but
I have a feeling that I shall not live to cross the sea again.' This was the
first intimation I had ever received that he had any thought that he might
not be with us long. Little did I dream that I was having my last talk with
my beloved friend.

"It is a pleasant thought that Mr. Moody's body has been laid to rest
on beautiful 'Round Top,' where he has spent so many of; the happiest hours
of his life with those who had gathered there to hear his words of wisdom
and grace. This spot might very appropriately be called Missionary Hill for
it is believed that from it more young men and women have decided to go to
foreign lands as missionaries than from any other single spot in the world."
– Ira D. Sankey, Brooklyn, N.Y.